Zharradan Marr
| sampleimage = | skill = | stamina = | luck = | weaponused = | homeland = | associates = | race = | sex = | alignment = | equipment = }} Zharradan Marr, originally named Zharradan Dree, born to a Hell Demon and a Hag-Witch of Dree, is one of the Demonic Three and master of a considerable area of eastern civilized Allansia. During his infancy, he was raised by the Women of Dree, who presumably conveyed him to the school of magic where he spent the rest of his childhood and adolescence. - p.103/237-240 Early Years Marr was apprenticed to Volgera Darkstorm along with Zagor and Balthus Dire, and learned the ways of Black Magic swiftly, undoubtedly due to his Demonic half. It was during his time here that he finally found the spell he had been looking for. Embarrassed by his surname of "Dree", associated with a contemptible village of witches and mutants, he sought a means to erase that name. That night, Zharradan Dree locked himself into his study and began the incantations - at dawn, "Zharradan Marr" emerged. Along with his fellow pupils, he grew tired of Darkstorm's attempts to restrict their learning and thereby protect himself from their growing power, and proceeded to kill him. Whilst Balthus headed south after this mutiny, he and Zagor headed north together until Zharradan headed further east into the Moonstone Hills. For many years, his movements were almost impossible to trace... and then he reappeared! Birth of an Empire Zharradan had discovered gold beneath the Moonstone Hills, and had used it to acquire a number of allies and servants. He placed Hannicus, a wizard of Neutral but very greedy disposition in charge of the Yellowstone Mines, and a Half-Troll named Thugruff in charge of his rapidly growing army, which included Soulless Ones and Rhino-Men amongst its number. Thugruff also set up a Training Grounds in the Forest of Spiders, which served to filter potential recruits to the army and ensure that only the best served. Marr's fortune was bolstered by his locating of Vallaska Roue, an amoral villain to the core, who had been the one to present Thugruff to Marr, as well as the dread Darramouss, who would replace Hannicus after a number of adventurers had repeatedly infiltrated Marr's dungeons and conducted wholesale theft, thereby harming his reputation. Zharradan's influence also extended to taxing many settlements in the Moonstone Hills, including Coven, and to the trading of magical material with Dree. Marrangha and the Galleykeep Marrangha Throughout his life, Zharradan had been keenly interested in a branch of magic known only as Marrangha, which inspired his change of name. The art of changing one form of life into another through combining magic and surgery was feebly practised by the witches of Dree, but Zharradan began to improve on it, though at no time were his experiments universally successful. He was certain that he could master the art of Marrangha if he could capture and use the Vapours of Stittle Woad, a collection of legendary magical vapours birthed by the Elf Queen as a result of divine impregnation. Whilst he successfully manipulated Daga Weaseltongue into stealing them for him, he was unable to deduce how to use them, and so merely kept them hidden in the deepest parts of his dungeons. Marr decided that only the Elves of Stittle Woad could tell him how to unlock the secrets of the Vapours, and began a fruitless search for the village. The Galleykeep At around this time, he learned of a magnificent vessel, the Galleykeep, a juggernaut whose timbers were nigh impregnable and which was virtually unaffected by weather. Furthermore, it was evidently magical - for it sailed through the air rather than the sea! Marr now turned his attention to capturing the Galleykeep, as he reasoned that an Elven village would only be magically hidden from conventional ground searchers, and not from those seeking it from above. In a lightning-fast and bloody ambush that left most of the crew dead, Marr led his Blood Orc troops against the Galleykeep, riding the Tooki - Gryphons specially bred for war. Along with the ship itself, he acquired the services of the Weather Mage Nimbicus and a headquarters far safer than his old subterranean one. He installed his physician, the undead Quimmel Bone, and the mysterious Master of Hellfire on the Galleykeep, and continued his search for Stittle Woad. Fortunately, he has not yet found it. To ensure he is not disturbed whilst perfecting his plans of conquest he has constructed a portal to the Netherworld, where he has his real lair. What shape or form this portal takes is not clear at present. - ??? It is worth noting that Marr used the former captain of the Galleykeep in one of his Marrangha experiments, which is believed to have been the most successful of all thus far. However, there is little further detail on this matter. The Trolltooth Wars Recently, Marr and Balthus have directly clashed in the Trolltooth Wars, as a result of their mutual desire to acquire Cunnelwort and acquire the aid of beings from the Spirit Plane. - p.??? Further Notes Depiction as an Ornament - Zhandar Marr Zharradan Marr was created as one of series of officially licensed Fighting Fantasy Ornaments made by Clarecraft Design. For some reason the ornament was actually labelled as "Zhandar Marr The Undead Sorcerer". However, there can be little doubt that the title should have been "Zharradan Marr". See Also *Balthus Dire *Zagor References Category:Major Faces of Titan Category:Major Villains Category:Necromancers Category:Wizards